Australia
August 13, 2014
Ascochyta blight has reared its head in chickpea crops in parts of northern and north central New South Wales, prompting a warning to chickpea growers and consultants to be on the lookout for the disease.
Ascochyta patch in PBA HatTrick, Yallaroi, 01 August 2014 - the orange stick is 1m long.
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) senior plant pathologist Dr Kevin Moore said Ascochyta was first confirmed in the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) northern region in a crop of Flipper chickpeas at North Star on July 8, 2014.
Since then it has been found in 27 crops mostly in the Gulargambone, Armatree, Collie, Trangie region and around Yallaroi and North Star.
With the exception of the Flipper crop at North Star, all the infected crops are believed by growers to be PBA HatTrick which is rated MR to Ascochyta blight. There is also one report of Ascochyta in PBA Boundary (also MR) at Forbes.
Although purity and/or correctness of the variety identification still need to be ascertained, Dr Moore urged growers to submit samples of any crop where Ascochyta blight is suspected.
Leaf axil lesions usually extend along the stem above and below the axil, often causing the stem to break, Armatree, 09 August 2014. Images supplied by Kevin Moore, NSW DPI.
Samples from suspected crops are being sought as part of the GRDC National Chickpea Ascochyta project, which incorporates monitoring for any changes in the race/virulence of Ascochyta blight. This provides extremely important information for the chickpea breeding program.
“Having just completed a trip through the central western region of NSW looking at chickpea crops, I’ve been surprised how widespread the incidence of Ascochyta blight is,” Dr Moore said.
“In some cases, growers believed they had PBA HatTrick in the ground so further testing is being undertaken to determine the authenticity of the varieties or whether in fact the fungus itself has changed.”
Where Ascochyta blight infection is suspected, growers are advised to have the disease positively identified. According to Dr Moore, they should also apply a registered fungicide based on chlorothalonil or mancozeb as close as possible to the next rain event.
If Ascochyta is suspected plant samples should be sent to:
New South Wales:
Kevin Moore, NSW DPI, 4 Marsden Park Rd, Calala NSW 2340
Queensland:
Sue Thompson, Qld DAFF, PO Box 102, Toowoomba QLD 4350
Samples should be wrapped in newspaper or paper towel and placed into an express post envelope (the plastic ones); ideally sent on a Monday or Tuesday not Thursday or Friday as they may be rotten after sitting in the post over the weekend; if needs be, samples can be stored in a fridge over the weekend before sending.
The following information should be included with the sample - name, phone number and email address; location, nearest town, property name; and variety.
Topics
Species
